The weather is getting a lot cooler now. My utility bill arrived the other day and it’s under $200 for the first time since the beginning of summer. My garden is liking the cool weather and rain, too. I don’t have a lot growing right now, but what is there seems to be a lot less stressed than it was during the summer.
It’s a little early to start working on the spring planting, but I think this is a good time to look back at what worked, what didn’t work, and what I want to do differently.
The okra survived the best over the entire summer. Even with the heat, it grew and produced, unlike the egg plant, peppers, and tomatoes that survived but didn’t thrive. While in the spring I’ll probably plant okra at the same time I put everything else in the garden, I won’t need to start it ahead and hope it produces before the summer heat hits. I’ll also plant two or three times as much as I did this year.
Quite a bit did well before the June heat blast and drought. The squash produced well, giving me a couple spaghetti squash, a butternut squash, and quite a few scallop squash. I think these will better if I plant them a few weeks earlier (or even start them in-doors at the end of February) so they have more cool spring weather for growing. Two plants per square seemed to work well. When the scallop squash was producing, I was able to have a couple each week. I don’t need more than that or I’ll get tired of eating it, unless I venture into preservation by freezing or canning.
Image by Jim Linwood via Flickr
Some of the herbs did well. The dill grew and went to seed. It takes so little room that I plan on planting it in quite a few squares around the other plants. Hopefully it will start self-propagating. The rosemary and oregano are doing well. They were overshadowed a bit by the tomato plant, but they pulled through. The cilantro grew well, but it needs to be succession planted. I had the most wonderful cilantro for a week or two before it bolted. I might be moving herbs such as those out of the square foot garden and into some beds next to the house—turn the flower beds into an herb garden.
Unfortunately, the lemon balm and basil never grew. I’ll be planting some mint in the pot that holds the small lemon tree. I can manage the watering and shade much easier when I can pull the pot under the porch. The fennel tried growing, but the heat was too much for it. I’ll be trying it again this winter when I get back from Thanksgiving.
The radishes did well up until June. I was able to harvest a square in two or three weeks and they are promising to be similarly quick this fall. I’ll start them earlier as well and try to keep three squares rotating so I have a fresh dozen radishes each week.
Those are the highlights of the spring/summer seasons. Next spring, I’ll focus on the okra, tomatoes, squash, radishes, herbs, and peppers. I may try a few new things, but I won’t plant colder-weather vegetables like cabbage or kohlrabi.
What are your plans? What are you going to do differently this time ‘round?
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